billowed

VERB

surge

Synonyms

STRONGEST

undulate

STRONG

balloon belly bloat bounce bulge heave pitch ripple rock roll swell toss wave

WEAK

ebb and flow puff up rise and fall rise up

Antonyms

STRONG

shrink stabilize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When smoke billowed from the damaged Fairmont The Palm hotel, he decided to hunker down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

I’m not sure what would provoke anyone to tune in, but like clockwork, the viewership billowed to the thousands.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

Up to 21 fire engines were at the scene by about 12:30 GMT, the fire service said, as thick black smoke billowed from the blaze.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

A plume of smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

A cloud of dust billowed out the door as she tidied up the interior.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown